|
Brent crude futures were up $3.13, or 2.7%, at $118.61 a barrel
at 1100 GMT. Prices had earlier fallen to a low of $114.45.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose $2.69, or
2.5%, to $111.96 a barrel. The contract had earlier slipped to a
low of $108.38.
The market remains on edge over the prospect of further
sanctions on Russia, the world's second-largest crude exporter,
after its invasion of Ukraine, actions that Moscow calls a
"special operation".
U.S. President Joe Biden is set to announce more Russian
sanctions when he meets with European leaders on Thursday in
Brussels, including an emergency meeting of NATO.
European Union member countries remain split on whether to ban
imports of Russian crude and oil products which still continue
to flow, but this might change once short-term contracts run
out.
"Next up are Russian exports in April and there we see cancelled
cargoes and problems for Russia to find buyers. India and China
will buy but that won't be enough to avoid declining Russian
exports," said SEB analyst Bjarne Schieldrop.
Russia on Tuesday warned of a drop in oil exports via the
Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) of up to 1 million barrels per
day (bpd), or 1% of global oil production, because of
storm-damaged berths.
CPC exports stopped fully on Wednesday and repairs will take at
least one and a half months, according to a port ship agent.
Plunging crude stockpiles in the United States, the world's
biggest oil consumer, also added to the apprehension around
supply.
The latest data from the American Petroleum Institute industry
group showed U.S. crude stocks fell by 4.3 million barrels for
the week ended March 18, according to market sources. [API/S]
Nine analysts polled by Reuters on average had estimated crude
inventories rose by 100,000 barrels in the week to March 18.
Official U.S. inventory data is due from the Energy Information
Administration on Wednesday.
(Additional reporting by Sonali Paul and Mohi Narayan; Editing
by Kirsten Donovan)
[© 2022 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
